Sesame Street takes on Game of Thrones in kid-friendly parody

Is there any corner of the entertainment universe that Game of Thrones hasn’t impacted? This new parody sketch from Sesame Street (yes, Sesame Street) would seem to indicate the answer is a solid “no.”

In the sketch, we get a clever little spin on the series in which the “Game” in Game of Thrones becomes an actual game of musical chairs. One might say the deeper metaphor holds some credence in the series itself, as each leader who ascends to the throne is pushed back from another faction in the series’ ever spinning wheel of power — levels, man.

For those of us who grew up with Sesame Street, Grover’s clumsiness and overall lack of awareness is a familiar touch of nostalgia — nice to see the enduring children’s series hasn’t abandoned some of those timeless tropes, keeping the new generation in the know. And those who are diehard fans of the HBO series will no doubt notice some rather unsubtle cues.

Some of our favorites among the quick jabs at GoT include Grover’s name (Grover Bluejoy, as opposed to Theon Greyjoy, of course), Robb’s allusion that he has “a wedding to get to” (bad idea, dude), and of course the all too obvious lines by Grover, “I’m sorry, it looks like you choked, Joffrey,” and “Do not lose your head over this Neddy, baby.” Not bad for a show aimed at 5 year olds.

As it always has, Sesame Street continues to add enough education and simplistic comedy to keep kids intrigued, yet thankfully adds another level meant just for the grown-ups — so as not to make one lose his or her mind in the dauntingly cheery catacombs of children’s programming. It’s a formula that has helped make the dazzling animated fare from the likes of Disney and Pixar into global phenomenons, and it works pretty well here, too.